Borough on the Loose
Various Artists

The Harlem Experiment (Ropeadope)

Like the Philadelphia and Detroit “experiments” before it, the Harlem Experiment assembles a diverse array of musicians to create a sonic archaeological profile of its hometown. That a borough instead of a city is featured this time attests to Harlem’s historical vibrance and the omnivorous volume of sound that would make a New York City portrait unwieldy.

For that matter, some ingenuity was required to capture a representative swath of musical Harlem. Clarinetist Don Byron gets his klezmatic swerve on for the Yiddish swing of the Andrews Sisters’ “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen.” Taj Mahal mugs like Cab Calloway for “Reefer Man” while a cha cha beat gooses him from behind. Tito Puente alumni Eddy Martinez (keys) and Ruben Rodriguez (bass) and ex–Mongo Santamaria sideman Steve Berrios (drums) ensure that Harlem’s Latin hues are primary colors in a house band that also includes David Bowie’s guitarist Carlos Alomar. The trumpeter Steven Bernstein, Grammy-nominated for his squirrelly arrangements for Sex Mob and currently heading the Millennial Territory Orchestra, rounds out the core ensemble. 

Great moments abound: Queen Esther channeling Aretha on “Think” before the hip-hop samples funk up the mix. Neo–soul man James Hunter performing a gentle acoustic rendition of “A Rose in Spanish Harlem,” a kindred spirit to Olu Dara’s closing “Walking Through Harlem.” The riveting raps of narrator DJ Mums, samples of Malcolm X speaking in Harlem, and some swirling funk-cum–acid jazz on the opening tracks that cues you up front that there’s lightning caught in this vintage bottle. —Britt Robson

 

McCoy Tyner
Quartet  (McCoy Tyner Music)
and
Afro Blue (Telarc)

Perhaps because pianist McCoy Tyner was part of John Coltrane’s historically indelible quartet, we take for granted his own monumental legacy. But two recent discs demand attention. Afro Blue is a well-chosen sampler of material from Tyner albums on the Telarc label over the past decade, in settings that include solo, trio, quartet, and Latin nonet. Better still, Quartet, Tyner’s first release on his own label, finds him intimately engaged with a supergroup (Joe Lovano, Christian McBride, “Tain” Watts) that’s driven by his magisterial command of the ivories. The sheer strength and dexterity of Tyner’s left hand provide a rumbling, capacious dimension to his sound. Add in the grandeur and audacity of his improvisations, and it’s as if he inhabits his own cathedral that harmonizes to the heavens and swings like a juke joint. —B.R.